IHC restores NBP chairman, president to their posts

• IHC suspends Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani's earlier verdict that ordered removal of NBP's president, chairman BoD. 
• Attorney general says there was no need for an advertisement of the post of chairman NBP. 
• Petitioners had objected to Usmani's appointment to the post, saying he was not qualified to be NBP's president as he did not posess a banking-related degree. 

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday restored National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) President Arif Usmani and Chairman NBP Zubyr Soomro. 

A single-member bench of the high court had ordered Usmani and Soomro's removal from the posts last month, in reponse to petitions challenging their appointments. 

A two-judge bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq heard the miscellaneous appeals against the decision of the single-member bench over the two persons' removal. 

Attorney General Khalid Javed appeared on behalf of the finance minister while senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan appeared on behalf of his client, Usmani, at the high court. 

The attorney general said Usmani and Somroo had been affected by the decision of the single-member bench.

The AG said that there was no issue for the publication of an advertisement for the post of NBP president. 

The court served notices to respondents in the case and adjourned the hearing. 

IHC orders NBP president, chairman BoD's removal from posts

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had last month ordered the removal of the NBP president and BoD chairman from their posts after a petitioner contested their appointments, saying that Usmani had a physics degree instead of one related to banking.  

The petitioners had said the NBP president's appointment was contrary to the guidelines of the Public Sector (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines 2015.

Usmani's counsel had informed the high court during a previous hearing that the NBP had earned impressive profits during his client's tenure as the bank's president.

Justice Kayani had remarked that if a degree has no connection with a field then a judge could also be appointed as a bank head.

Soomro's lawyer, on the other hand, had argued that the petition had been filed on the basis of malafied intentions, adding that the petitioners were not affected by appointments.